Cajun Crawfish Patties

Total Time: 47 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 17 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups packed fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 lb peeled crawfish tail, chopped
• 2 ounces tasso, chopped (or other smoky ham)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon tabasco sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 cup saltine crumbs
• vegetable oil, for panfrying

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350°.
• 2 scatter the bread crumbs on a rimmed baking sheet and bake about 5 minutes or until dry and golden; dump crumbs into a mixing bowl.
• 3 in the container of a food processor; add the crawfish (fat too, if any) and tasso; pulse just enough times to mince the mixture (stop short of pureeing); add crawfish mixture to the mixing bowl with the breadcrumbs.
• 4 melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.
• 5 stir in the onions, celery, and bell pepper; saute/stir briefly until the vegetables are soft.
• 6 stir in the lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, tabasco, salt, and cayenne and remove from the heat.
• 7 scrape the mixture into the mixing bowl; also add in the egg and combine mixture.
• 8 form mixture into 8-12 patties, no thicker that 1/2 inch.
• 9 the mixture will be a little fragile.
• 10 coat the patties with the cracker crumbs by holding each patty in your hand and sprinkling both sides with cracker crumbs.
• 11 refrigerate patties for about 10 minutes.
• 12 warm 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium heat; fry the patties 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
• 13 drain and serve hot.